Houses in America often have their exterior walls clad with siding to protect the predominately wooden construction from the elements. Vinyl siding has become particular popular over the last several decades as it is inexpensive, relatively easy to clean and relatively durable. However, in recent years, fiber cement siding has begun to replace vinyl siding. Fiber cement is a product made of sand, cement and cellulose. As a siding material, fiber cement has advantages over both wood and vinyl in that it is rot resistant, termite resistant and non-combustible. Because of these properties fiber cement siding has become widely used in bush fire regions of Australia, and is now becoming a material of choice for new construction in the US. Fiber cement siding can also be painted and can be made to look like wood. Its one significant disadvantage is that the fiber cement planks used in the siding are relatively heavy and need to be placed one at a time. Any method of making their alignment easier is, therefore, of great practical utility.
The system and method of this invention provide both increased thermal insulation and significantly simplify alignment of the planks. The simplified alignment significantly reduces the time to install the siding. By some estimates installation time may be reduced by as much as 40% through the use of the novel shaped insulating board of the present invention.